Medical Issues And Power Of Attorney Anything can happen and as much as we want to plan our day, we cannot really foresee the future. So what happens when we suddenly figure in an accident? Who will be at hand to take care of our business dealings and other personal issues? Can power of attorney fix things? To put it simply, this legal term is a medium for granting an individual the right to make medical, financial, and other decisions on your behalf. Easy to understand, isn t it? The authority to manage another person s affairs may begin immediately or only when the principal can no longer make decisions on his or her own. Preparing power-of-attorney documents is not as complex as it seems. Listed here are seven easy steps to help you come up with a proper power-of-attorney document. 1. Gather all the forms you will use as models for your document. Over the Internet, you can find websites that specialize in legal forms. The durable power of attorney could cover different decisions and responsibilities, aside from health care decisions, like: Providing gifts which can play a major part in estate tax planning. Accessing safe-deposit boxes. Signing tax returns, IRS documents, and settling tax disputes. Pursuing legal matters or litigation on behalf of the principal. Before you consult with a lawyer, it is best to view several POA forms and understand fully the terms specified on them. That way, you can see the various possibilities before you head over to a lawyer s office. There are many sources of POA forms online these days. You can download a form from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This also includes making the decision to pull the plug in cases when only a machine is keeping the principal alive. Some people are also given the power of attorney to take care of a principal s financial portfolio. Although this is well and good especially when you are so busy and want to put the business of investing your money to a professional.